Bursting the Bubble
by cranesandcranesandcranes
Summary: Dolph Ziggler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the newest and perhaps strangest member of the Diva roster, the quirky, aloof and awkward Emma. She lives in her own world; it seems like a weird and wonderful place that Dolph wouldn't mind visiting, but first he has to stop her talking about herself for long enough to ask her. Dolph/Emma, probably a one shot, may continue.


**Couldn't sleep and this short, silly little idea came to me. Could be a one-shot, could have a few chapters more depending on the feedback I get. Set during this week's Raw (2/17/2014) Please read and review :)**

He didn't know why he liked her so much. Well, she was stunningly beautiful and a tremendous athlete, but the same went for every woman in this line of work. So why, of all the fine specimens that populated the Divas locker room, was she the only one he could not get out of his head? He supposed the uncertainty was a big part of the attraction. He had everyone else around the place figured out. Some were painfully transparent, others were mysteries that took longer to unravel, but he always got there eventually. But it had been a month now since she showed up on the main roster, and Emma remained as frustratingly enigmatic to him as ever.

She lived in her own universe of which she was not only the centre, but seemingly the sole component. That was hardly uncommon in the WWE, but this wasn't conventional egomania, if it was he would have no desire to delve any further. It was stranger than that, a form of escapism perhaps, and comfort. A world she could feel in control of to distract her from the daunting scenario of being a small cog in the workings of this enormous sports-entertainment juggernaut. If all she needed to be happy was to dance, to wave her signs and to flash that adorably awkward smile, then it didn't matter what happened around her, what people thought of her, whether she had friends. He'd presumed that would be his way in, but now it appeared someone had beaten him to the punch. Someone equally enveloped in his own zany, bizarre little realm. And it appeared Planet Emma and Planet Santino were perfectly aligned, if this evening's events in the ring were anything to go by.

If not for a timely intervention, Emma and Santino would have kissed there and then live on television. But they didn't, and they both seemed rather embarrassed (as embarrassed as two people with such an apparent lack of self-awareness could be) at getting caught up in the moment like that. Maybe there was still a chance. Whether she was for the taking or not, he still had a million questions he would very much like to have answered by this aloof young Australian.

"Do you have nothing better to do than lurk outside the Divas locker room?" a stern, probing female voice awoke Dolph from his deep state of contemplation.

"Nattie... I... no... I was... just... _waiting_. Waiting and thinking," he stammered, being forced to respond before he could order a credible excuse.

"Sounds like lurking to me," Natalya smirked, unimpressed if slightly amused. As he finally composed himself, Dolph realised he may have found just the person to talk to. He'd become a regular viewer of NXT as of late, for reasons not entirely unrelated to his would-be crush. Natalya had teamed up with and faced off against Emma on numerous occasions down in Florida, surely she must have had a clearer idea than most what was going on inside that pretty little head.

"Nattie, what do you know about Emma?" he enquired without hesitation. The Canadian Diva gave a wry smile of realisation and threw her head back.

"Ah, I see..." she grinned in a tone that managed to be both warm and somewhat condescending.

"...well, she's very talented, she's from Australia, but she trained in Calgary, like all the best wrestlers in the world..."

"No, I meant, as a person..." he sighed frustratedly.

"...that's why I consulted a human being and not a press release. You must have spent plenty of time with her, what's she really like? All that goofy dancing, blowing bubbles... does she ever stop that? Does she ever talk about anything... normal?"

"You asked me what I know about her. And that's all you can know about someone like Emma; the bare facts..." Natalya replied plainly.

"...she must have plenty going on up there, you don't get to be that good in the ring if you don't, but I'll be damned if I know what makes her tick. She's quite the one-off; 'eccentric' to put it politely, 'crazy' if you wanna be harsh. Then again, on past evidence that's no bad thing in your book."

Dolph winced. Natalya may have been right though, he clearly had a weakness for the more unconventional woman. But he liked to think, based on his limited experience of Emma, that nothing akin to AJ's chaotic web of manic insecurity, vengeful fury and callous manipulation lay beneath her surface. If she was a little off her rocker, she was what he liked to call the 'good' kind of crazy. But then, he'd thought AJ was too to begin with.

"So, if I were to ask her out..." he began.

"...You'd be a very brave man," Natalya finished with another grin.

"But seriously, go for it. One thing's for certain, she means no harm. She has a positive attitude, which is more that can be said for _some_ of the girls around here, she might just need the right guy to take the time to get to know the real her. Tyson thought I was something of a weirdo before he got to know me properly."

"I have no trouble whatsoever believing that..." Dolph quipped, to which Natalya gave a playful frown.

"...So, is she in there right now? Could you go get her for me?"

"Sure. Wait one moment. And good luck."

Natalya disappeared through the locker room door. Dolph braced himself. He'd never panicked over what to say in these situations before. He didn't get the reputation he had through being coy and hesitant when it came to the ladies. But this lady in particular... none of the usual rules seemed to apply when it came to her. This was like being fourteen all over again.

After about a minute of waiting, out she came, handbag slung around her shoulder, dressed in the white 'Emmalution' T-shirt and black yoga pants she had worn out to the ring earlier. During the course of the match, Dolph had come to the conclusion that Emma should never wear anything other than yoga pants. She cocked her head and eyed him with wonderment. He realised that this was the point in normal human interaction where it would be appropriate to introduce himself. But then, surely she already knew who he was?

"Hi, I'm Dolph Zig..."

"Yeah, I know."

Well, that answered that one.

"I just wondered if, since you're new here and all, if you wanted to..." he began.

"Do you want me to help you out with some new moves for your entrance? Cos that thing _seriously_ needs work," she giggled, evidently not paying any attention whatsoever to the fact he was in mid-sentence. That would be gratingly rude coming from anyone else, but somehow he was more than willing to forgive it coming from her. Maybe it was the accent.

"Umm, no, see I was wondering if maybe we could..."

"You've not been winning much lately, have you? Maybe I can teach you a few things. Have you been watching NXT? Of course you have. Well, you'll know I'm kind of unbeatable at the moment," she interjected blithely once again.

If this were almost literally anyone other person, Dolph would now be screaming at them for their impertinence and arrogance. Not to mention the fact his recent poor fortunes in the ring were something of a sore point. And the very idea a rookie Diva could teach him anything worthwhile between the ropes should have had his male pride seething. But instead, he was enjoying the challenge of trying to break through her forcefield of self-absorption.

"It's just a blip, I've been unlucky, but anyway..."

"Have you got one of my business cards yet?" Emma questioned enthusiastically

"Business cards?" he repeated, astounded. He'd never had cause to issue a business card in his entire career.

Emma rummaged in her bag, producing both one of the aforementioned cards and a pen, with which she began scrawling on the back of it. Dolph squinted and gaped open-mouthed. Was she seriously giving him her autograph? Maybe she was nothing more than a rampant egomaniac after all.

"Here!" she finally chirped, offering the card to him with a broad beam that instantly made him willing to forgive her arrogance. Conceitedness had never been so cute.

He studied the card; a logo consisting of the word 'Emmalution' in stylised text and silhouettes of her signature dance poses, with her Twitter handle along the bottom. He flipped it over to see what on Earth she had written on the other side:

_'I'm guessing you're trying to ask me out. I'm very flattered, and the answer is yes. Meet me in the hotel lobby at 10.'_

Well, good, he supposed. Quite why she couldn't just say so, he had no idea. But maybe this led him closer to deciphering the Emma enigma. Maybe, for all her apparent brashness and lack of shame, she was extremely shy when it came to 'real talk' and used this ditzy, detached persona as a smokescreen. One thing was for certain, he was going to have a fascinating time finding out.

"So, any idea where you wanna..." he looked up from the card to find she was already halfway down the hall, doing that godawful dance as she went.

"Well?" once again, Natalya's arrival beside him snapped him out of his trance.

"You're right..." he murmured aghast, returning his gaze to Emma, determined to watch her til she danced out of sight.

"...she's nuts. Completely off the wall... and I think I just might be falling in love with her."


End file.
